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The first Curious
George movie was a
big success. It did
decently at the box
office and it
captured the spirit
of the children's
books perfectly in a
full-length movie.
Since that movie
there has been a TV
series adaptation
based on the
exploits of George
and the Man in the
Yellow Hat on PBS.
After a TV show
comes into play it's
kind of hard to turn
in a second movie
that's not a direct
to home video
release. "Curious
George 2: Follow
That Monkey" is a direct
to DVD release.
In "Curious George 2:
Follow That Monkey",
George befriends an
elephant named
Kayla at a
magic show.
Kayla and
George go exploring
outside of the
building a leave
without telling
anyone. They decide
to head to
California to see
Kayla's
brother and sister
and it's not really
known by
Ted until
he finds them on the
train and goes on a
full scale adventure
across country where
everyone in the U.S.
thinks that
Ted
kidnapped the
elephant.
The story isn't the
most believable
thing in the world,
and compared to the
first movie it
doesn't hold up as
well. It's a typical
story designed for a
direct to DVD
release. This movie
feels less like the
movie and more like
the TV show. The
other part where
this struggles is
the cast. Will
Ferrell isn't back
as Ted,
(the man in the
Yellow Hat), this
time Ted'ss
voiced by
Jeff Bennett.
The other main
voices from the
first movie aren't
here either
including Drew
Barrymore and
Dick Van Dyke. This
time the cast
includes
Tim Curry,
Jamie Kennedy, and
Matt Lauer. It's
a noticeable falloff
but the movie
doesn't suffer from
it too bad.
The bonus features
on Curious George 2:
Follow That Monkey
are the best part of
the release with bonus episodes
from the TV show and
a couple of music
videos.
Curious George 2:
Follow That Monkey
isn't a terrible
release it's just a
slight
disappointment
because you would
have liked to have
seen the same recipe
used for the first
movie back for the
second. It still
holds up nice as a
DVD with some
capable bonus
features and some
great music by Brian
Wilson and Carbon
Leaf. It's not an
amazing
release but Curious
George 2 is a DVD
that your family
will enjoy.
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